to duck
- verb
- /dʌk/
- Oh, remember to duck when you go under helicopters.
- duck for cover
And I probably ducked or dived or did something.
- And I probably ducked or dived or did something.
- Or was it hard to walk around being you can't duck and hide at six four.
- Jumps up, ducks under, turns around, definitely into the bag.
- Roaring with the crowd or like ducking, working through the meat.
- And you hear gunshots and a few of us to include myself, we like duck.
- Every now and then that duck, duck, goose, you know, 'cause you duck and duck and every now and then you want that goose.
Examples
-
Seeing the oncoming branch, he instinctively ducked to avoid it.
-
Jacob nudged Mark hard, and they ducked behind the banister at the foot of the stairs.
Fiction book (1991) -
I think you need to duck your head a little more.
-
You guys duck down back there.
-
If I signal, duck back.
-
Every time I go there, I still duck my head involuntarily.
-
When the women filed into a big room, we ducked behind a square marble column.
Fiction book (1991) -
Coming about, hard alee, and you duck your head and don't slide off when the boat changes direction.
Fiction book (1990) -
Hurried, but with his usual dignity, he ducked and swerved as necessary.
Fiction book (1990) -
The alien swings a large paw, but Kirk ducks and comes in with an uppercut.
Fiction book (1991)
Synonyms
To move quickly to avoid being hit
To lower your body quickly by bending your knees to avoid being seen or hit
To move quickly and skillfully to avoid things or difficult problems
Antonyms
Idioms
Phrasal Verbs
Compounds
A water bird like a mallard that lives in lakes and rivers and is not kept by people
- Australian
A mammal from Australia that lays eggs and has a duck-like bill and webbed feet
A large wild North American duck with a sloping profile and red head prized by hunters for its meat
- Archaic
A pink sparkling wine that people make by mixing red and white wines and serve cold
A large sea duck from northern coasts whose female gives soft down used in quilts and pillows
- Jargon
A habit of preferring the first way you learn and resisting later changes
- US
A diving duck from North America with a blue-grey bill that lives in lakes and near the sea
How Low
Surface Forms
Etymology
Duck meaning 'to lower quickly' comes from an old word ducan meaning 'to bend down' or 'to dive', so to duck is to quickly bend down to avoid being hit or seen.